Berners, John Bourchier, 2d baron

Related Category: English Literature, 1500 to 1799: Biographies

(bou´chər, bûr´nərz), 1467–1533, English diplomat and man of letters. A member of Parliament from 1495 to 1529, he later became chancellor of the exchequer (1516) and ambassador to Madrid (1518). He was English governor of Calais from 1520 until his death. Berners's literary work includes such translations as Froissart's Chronicles (2 vol., 1523–25); Huon of Bordeaux (1534?); and The Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius (1535; from a French version of Guevara's work).